Chapter 13: Unspoken Alliances
Lilia had no idea what had just happened. The sensation was unfamiliar yet hauntingly similar, a shadow of something she couldn't quite name. Was it the same feeling she had experienced before, or were her thoughts playing tricks on her again? The questions swirled relentlessly in her mind. Perhaps she was mistaken. Perhaps it was nothing.
But she felt it.
Lilia shook her head and turned to walk back to her parents. The crowd blurred into a haze of color and noise, their laughter and chatter fading into the background as her thoughts consumed her.
She was just a few steps away when a hand grabbed her arm, yanking her aside with startling force.
Lilia blinked, startled, and found herself face-to-face with Sabrina. The grip on her arm was firm, almost bruising, but it was Sabrina's expression that truly caught her off guard. A faint smile played on Sabrina's lips, but it lacked warmth.
Sabrina's eyes gleamed, her gaze sharp and assessing. For a fleeting moment, something like jealousy flickered in their depths, but Lilia, too distracted by the whirlwind of emotions in her own mind, didn't notice.
"What did he tell you?" Sabrina asked, her voice sweet and laced with honey. Yet beneath the surface, it carried a dangerous edge, like the glint of a knife hidden beneath silk.
Lilia hesitated. Her throat felt dry, the words stuck in the back of her mouth. She didn't know what to say—or rather, she didn't want to say anything at all. The truth was, she was still grappling with herself, trying to find a logical explanation for why the strange sensation she'd felt that night had returned so vividly, unsettling her all over again.
"I..." she began, but the sentence withered before it could bloom.
Sabrina's eyes narrowed, her smile tightening. Her grip on Lilia's arm didn't loosen. "Why won't you tell me what he said?" she pressed, her tone losing its earlier sweetness. "Why keep secrets?"
Lilia tried to avert her gaze, but Sabrina wouldn't let her. The grip on her arm tightened, just enough to make her wince.